Al Jazeera World

Israel is a nation of immigrants, and first-generation Israelis comprise only 32 percent of the population. Integration into Israeli society has been one of its main political goals and, under the leadership of founding prime minister David Ben-Gurion, Israel was going to be "the great Jewish melting pot", but it has come under severe strain almost since its inception in 1948. "There's a gap in Israeli society," says Karen Amit, an Israeli of Moroccan origin. "They support the arrival of immigrants in theory and love them but, in practice, the ordinary Israeli doesn't open his arms to welcome them. Research about Israeli attitude towards immigrants from Ethiopia has shown surprising results. On the one hand, they love them and have no problem with them. But when asked if they'd accept an Ethiopian neighbour or their children being at school with Ethiopians, their reply was negative." Jewish people living in Israel today are largely divided into three main groups: Ashkenazi, Sephardi and Mizrahi. The Ashkenazim are from Germany, France and Eastern Europe. The term "Ashkenazi" comes from the Hebrew word for Germany. Most American Jews today are Ashkenazim, descended from those who arrived from Europe in the mid-1800s and early 1900s. The Sephardim are from Spain, Portugal, North Africa and the Middle East. The term "Sephardi" comes from the Hebrew word for Spain. Many Jews fled Spain after the end of Muslim rule there in 1492. Sephardic Jews are often subdivided into Sephardim and Mizrahim, from North Africa and the Middle East. The term "Mizrahi" comes from the Hebrew word for eastern. There are claims of discrimination against the Mizrahi community in Israel. "Discrimination and inequality were always a common practice. Western [Ashkenazi] Jews look down on others. They don't want to grant the Mizrahis power ... They want to fill their prisons with them rather than offering them education, culture and guidance," says Pinhas Aloshi, an Israeli of Tunisian origin. David Hetsroni, an Israeli of Polish origin, came to Israel in 1930. "My father arrived the following year. He didn't get any help from the state but paid for everything out of his own pocket. But as soon as the Mizrahi Jews arrived, they started complaining they were being oppressed. They used to say, 'You send us to live in Dimona, in the south while you live in Tel Aviv and in the centre. You offer us poor jobs while you get all the decent ones.' We didn't make these allegations. That's what I find hard to accept. natural justice, in my view, says [the allegations] are not fair," Hetsroni says. Yehouda Shenhav, an Israeli of Iraqi origin, believes that the situation of the third-generation Mizrahi Jews compared with Ashkenazis, is worse today than it was 30 years ago. "In the Seventies, there was one Mizrahi with a baccalaureate diploma to three Ashkenazis. Four percent of Mizrahi got the baccalaureate compared with 16 percent of Ashkenazim. Today, the gap has widened to about 12 percent against 50 percent. I re-invented myself as Israeli rather than Arab. The more you distance yourself from Arabness, the more chance you have of integrating into Israeli society. It's sad," says Shenhav. Rabbi Haim Amsalam says personal progress often depends on whether your family name is Mizrahi or not. "I know many people who've reached high-ranking positions. They had no choice but to adopt Ashkenazi speech and physical appearance and gradually adopt Ashkenazi culture .... The melting pot that Ben-Gurion wanted to create has failed, because he wanted to melt everyone into one culture, the Western, Ashkenazi one. Why should I abandon my culture and heritage?" says Amsalam. Israel's Great Divide explores the deep-rooted tension between Israel's Ashkenazi Jews and the Sephardi and Mizrahi communities. More from Al Jazeera World on: YouTube - http://aje.io/aljazeeraworldYT Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/AlJazeeraWorld Twitter - https://twitter.com/AlJazeera_World Visit our website - http://www.aljazeera.com/aljazeeraworld Subscribe to AJE on YouTube - http://aje.io/YTsubscribe

Once a year, for a whole month, Muslims around the world observe the holy month of Ramadan. Family, community work, prayer, reflection and, most importantly, fasting from sunrise to sunset, are the main elements of the month. However, observing Ramadan is not always straightforward in countries where Muslims are in the clear minority. So, how do Muslims in the western world put their faith into practice when lifestyles can often be so different? Ramadan has recently fallen in July and August, summer in the northern hemisphere and winter in the south. Fasting during daylight hours in Iceland where there can be 24-hours sunshine in summer, contrasts sharply with the short days of the New Zealand winter - but each posts different challenges for the minority Muslim communities of the two countries at opposite ends of the globe. There are almost 50,000 Muslims in New Zealand now, one percent of the population. The numbers of indigenous Maori converts are also on the rise, some claiming it helps them connect with the true nature of their heritage. Carlos Brokeen, now known as Abdulaziz, his extended Maori family and friends in Hastings on the South Island, are relatively recent converts. "People look at me like I'm not a Maori because of my clothing," says Carlos, indicating his salwar kameez. "But then they've got to turn around and look at what they wearing." With a troubled past including gang violence and drug abuse, Islam has brought him and his family a fresh start and a new inner peace, especially evident during Ramadan. "Once I became a Muslim it became obligatory upon me to seek knowledge. So now I know more about my history than I did before I was a Muslim. I feel strong and more intact with my Maoridom," he continues. For the family, Ramadan can be both the best and hardest time of year. It's sometimes difficult to cram everything into a shortened winter day. But over in Iceland, the day sometimes never ends for its estimated 1,200 Muslims. Sverrir Ibrahim Agnarsson came to Iceland as a Muslim in 1973 and is Chair of the Association of Muslims in Iceland. If he and his fellow Muslims adhered strictly to Quran timings - sunrise to sunset - they might not be able to pray Isha (the night prayer) until December. "In middle of June and July we have 24-hour sunshine," says Agnarsson. "In Reykjavik the sun goes down but it never gets dark." One year when Ramadan fell in July, he approached the religious authorities in Cairo for guidance and was told he should start fasting at dawn - but only for the same duration as fasting hours in Mecca, a much more manageable 15 hours. Although the Muslim communities of the New Zealand town of Hastings and the Icelandic capital Reykyavik are literally a world apart, it's clear that Ramadan is the same deeply spiritual time for both of them. More from Al Jazeera World on: YouTube - http://aje.io/aljazeeraworldYT Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/AlJazeeraWorld Twitter - https://twitter.com/AlJazeera_World Visit our website - http://www.aljazeera.com/aljazeeraworld Subscribe to AJE on YouTube - http://aje.io/YTsubscribe

This is the story of the secret deal between the British and French, concluded in May 1916, which aimed to carve up the Middle East in ways that most benefited the two European powers. Modern world history has been heavily influenced by events in the Middle East, whose strategic importance has been magnified by both a global dependence on oil and the Israel-Palestine conflict. A hundred years ago, World War I saw Britain, France and Russia locked in combat with Germany, Austro-Hungary and the Ottomans. As the war in Europe fought itself almost to a standstill, Britain cast a strategic eye towards key areas of the Ottoman Empire. Should the allies be victorious, it would be important to claim the most strategically valuable territory - Greater Syria and Mesopotamia - particularly in relation to the French. The prime minister, Herbert Asquith, turned to a young British politician, Sir Mark Sykes, who'd become chief government adviser on the "Near East". In late 1915 and early 1916, he and the French lawyer-turned-diplomat, Francois Georges-Picot, would negotiate the terms of a secret agreement with potentially far-reaching consequences.

Mayotte is a magnet for Comoros islanders who risk their lives crossing hazardous seas in search of a better life. - Subscribe to our channel: http://bit.ly/AJSubscribe - Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AJEnglish - Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera - Check our website: http://www.aljazeera.com/

The American University of Beirut (AUB) was founded a century and a half ago and is the oldest university in Lebanon. It was established in December 1866 as the Syrian Protestant College. Since then, almost 65,000 students from around a hundred countries have graduated from AUB. This year, some 8,000 Arab men and women will study there. This film explores AUB, one of the leading academic institutions in the Middle East, and some of the ways its history has been interwoven with that of Lebanon itself. We explore the history of the American University of Beirut and whether it has played a role in US interests in Lebanon and the Middle East since its founding nearly 150 years ago. More from Al Jazeera World on: YouTube - http://aje.io/ajw_yt Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/AlJazeeraWorld Twitter - https://twitter.com/AlJazeera_World Visit our website - http://www.aljazeera.com/aljazeeraworld Subscribe to our channel - http://bit.ly/AJSubscribe

Moroccans who have spent all their working lives in France and the Netherlands are now facing discrimination against their pensions in what has been slammed as a form of 'retirement apartheid'. Retired French and Italians can live anywhere in Europe without it affecting their domestic pension entitlements; but north Africans who've lived and worked in France for more than 40 years are denied the same rights. Instead they face a stark choice - return to their home countries and lose large slices of their pension and face medical bills they can't afford; or remain in, say, France with their full pensions but away from their families back home. "I'm sick," says 75-year-old Mohamed Air Wakrim who's lived in France for 45 years. "If I stay in Morocco for more than six months, they'll find out and take away my rights." Contrast this with the treatment of Europeans and you have what some people have called 'retirement apartheid'. "In Tunisia, I only have to pay four or five percent tax," says Italian pensioner Mauro Sansovini. "In Italy, the tax rate on my pension income is between 40 and 45 percent." Salim Fkire who heads the campaign group 'Moroccans Residing Abroad' sums up the situation: "Mohamed and Patrick both worked in the same factory, got the same pension and paid the same taxes. Today, Patrick has the right to live permanently in Agadir. But Mohamed can't stay in his home town for more than six months. After that he’ll have to return to France or else he’ll lose his social rights." In The Retirement Trap, we look at the struggles of Moroccans to redress this pension injustice and escape the retirement trap they find themselves in. - Subscribe to our channel: http://bit.ly/AJSubscribe - Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AJEnglish - Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera - Check out our website: http://www.aljazeera.com/

Bulgaria's ethnic Turkish community, persecuted and even deported last century, continues its fight for recognition. - Subscribe to our channel: http://bit.ly/AJSubscribe - Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AJEnglish - Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera - Check out our website: http://www.aljazeera.com/

Moroccan family law is built around the Moudawana, a family code that governs marriage, divorce, child custody, maintenance and the division of assets. Adapting well-established traditions, it has been in existence since the 1950s; but, historically, marriage - and divorce - had always been in the hands of men. But in recent decades the Moudawana has faced pressure from civil society groups and women's rights campaigners to introduce reforms, prompting King Mohamed VI to appoint a commission to examine its principles and practice in October 2003. Its findings have resulted in more rights for women and updates to many of its rules, particularly in introducing new types of divorce, including for "irreconcilable differences". In Marriage and Divorce in Morocco we look at a host of areas affected by the family code including registration of marriage, division of assets, maintenance, domestic violence, rape, and the effects on men who find themselves in abusive relationships. We hear from lawyers, judges, social commentators and also ex-wives and ex-husbands - like Fadma Amzil, who had a Fatiha marriage, but which was not registered with the civil authorities. "I only had a Fatiha marriage," she says. "He got married to another woman and their marriage was registered. My situation would have been different if my marriage had been registered." We also speak to critics of the code who argue that some discrimination has survived the 2004 reforms. We hear from the family of Amina Filali, a 16-year-old whose case grabbed headlines when she took her own life after being forced to marry her alleged rapist. A loophole in the law, penal code article 475, meant a rapist could evade prosecution if he married his victim. This film looks at the human stories behind the Moudawana, how it has modernised family law, and at the progress it still probably needs to make.

For the past 16 years, Huseyin Gunduz has dreamt of building a mosque in the Dutch capital, Amsterdam. Having had to perform congregational prayers in factories, community centres and people's basements; he has spent years campaigning and fundraising to build a place of worship and make his dream a reality. In The Mosque of West Amsterdam, we follow Huseyin as work finally nears completion on the Western Mosque. "The thought of the outcome and success leaves me speechless," he says. "I believe we'll be rewarded in the afterlife for our contribution and efforts." Known locally as Westermoskee, the structure - modeled on Istanbul's iconic Hagia Sophia - is in urgent need of funds to be completed. From its conception, in the early 1990s, to the present day - construction has been fraught with controversy, as well as political and financial difficulties. Planning problems, corruption scandals, local opposition and anti-Islamic prejudice have plagued the project, halting development for nearly a decade. The extreme-right leader Geert Wilders, whose Freedom Party is riding high in the opinion polls, has also been an outspoken critic, leading to growing local opposition. This film looks at how Huseyin tries to raise the capital necessary for development while trying to bridge relations with residents who are growing increasingly weary of the mosque. - Subscribe to our channel: http://bit.ly/AJSubscribe - Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AJEnglish - Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera - Check out our website: http://www.aljazeera.com/

The story of King Idris I, who unified Libya and became its first king in 1951 before being toppled by Gaddafi in 1969. -Subscribe to our channel: http://bit.ly/AJSubscribe -Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AJEnglish -Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera -Check our website: http://www.aljazeera.com/

The story of King Idris I who unified Libya and became its first - and last - king before being toppled by Gaddafi in 1969. -Subscribe to our channel http://bit.ly/AJSubscribe -Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/AJEnglish -Find us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera -Check our website http://www.aljazeera.com/

The al-Aqsa Mosque compound – of historical and religious importance to both Muslims and Jews and a point of tension between Israelis and Palestinians. -Subscribe to our channel: http://bit.ly/AJSubscribe -Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AJEnglish -Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera -Check out our website: http://www.aljazeera.com/

Generations of Lebanese migrants call Africa home. We look at their achievements, challenges and search for identity.

Nearly half-a-million blind people live in Turkey. While attitudes are gradually changing in Turkey, awareness of blindness tends to lag behind awareness and understanding of disability in some other parts of the world. In Seeing Isn't Everything four blind people living in Istanbul talk about how they are all too often defined through their disability and want to challenge social perceptions about what it means to live without sight. One of them is Burcak Souoglu who lost her sight aged four. She is now a single mother after her husband left her with two children. She works on the switchboard at Marmara University. She lacks confidence out on the often frenetic streets of Istanbul - but as a devoted mother derives immense satisfaction from raising her two children. Burcak's younger sister, Gamze, has five percent of her sight. "I can distinguish big objects…and also the main colours… When you're a teenager you take your physical appearance very seriously…but you don't know what you look like," she says. Still Gamze, like the other three characters in this film, exudes positivity. "Gaining pleasure from something isn't always related to seeing. Seeing isn't everything." All four of them talk about their personal strategies for leading full lives and challenging perceptions about the blind, particularly in Turkey.

Switzerland is proud of being a democracy, of being internationally neutral and of not having been involved in conflict since a civil war in 1848. But is still has the second largest armed force per head of population in the world. Why? Military service is mandatory with almost all eligible males trained as soldiers and women also serving as volunteers: "For me, joining the army was patriotic decision," says Sergeant Laetitia Geiser. "I'm intrigued when it comes to serving my country." Military training camps are a common across Switzerland, as are civilians carrying shotguns over their shoulders. Behind only the US and Yemen in the number of guns per capita; there are around 29 guns for every 100 people. And in a country of only 8 million people, that means at least one in four households has a gun. The pro-military culture has made target shooting a popular national sport, even amongst children. "I inherited my passion for shooting from my parents," says nine-year old Luca. Despite the strong gun culture, there are rarely more than forty gun homicides a year, compared with the US - with its 30,000 gun murders a year and 31 every day. Nonetheless, a fresh debate over gun control has been rekindled in Switzerland. Sandro Cattacin from Geneva University doesn't believe keeping arms at home creates greater security; and anti-gun lobbyist Amanda Gavilanes launched a campaign five years ago with the slogan "for a better protection from armed violence." But with guns so engrained in Swiss culture and the crime statistics so relatively low, is it a debate that will ever lead anywhere?